Today was the long-anticipated introduction of Apple Computers new Tablet device. Apple’s new ‘iPad’ is being touted as a revolutionary device that will shake up the industry, just like the iPod and the iPhone. And when Apple CEO Steve jobs made his big announcement and showed off the multimedia capability, he showed the Star Trek movie as an example. Of course, the notion of a PADD computer is nothing new to Trek. [UPDATE: Brent Spiner weighs in on the iPad/PADD connection]

Apple introduces its PADD, the iPadThe Apple iPad was introduced today with Apple CEO Steve Jobs making one of his famous speeches in front of a giant screen showing off the new tech that everyone is supposed to immediately desire, and admittedly the iPad appears to be pretty cool.

Steve Jobs reveals the iPad

Tech site Endgadget liveblogged with photos, including this one showing off the ‘magic’ of playing movies on the iPad. And to do so he showed the new Star Trek movie.

Star Trek has been using Tablets/PADDs since the 60s
Of course Apple is not the first company to offer a tablet PC, like they were not the first with a smart phone or with an MP3 player, but their market dominance will likely make them a leader in the category soon enough. But the tablet computer is yet another piece of technology that has lived on Star Trek for years. Since the 60s Star Trek showed that tablet computers were part of the future, which were called PADDs in Star Trek TNG tehno-jargon (Personal Access Data Display).

Uhura with her tablet from 1960s "Star Trek"

Every incarnation of Star Trek from the original Star Trek in the 60s, to all four of the spin-offs (Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, & Enterprise), used some form of PADD or tablet computer. They were seen as part of Starfleet and alien technology. Even the 2009 Star Trek movie continued the tradition of the PADD on board the USS Enterprise.

PADD from "Deep Space Nine"

A PADD (held by James Cawley) on board the new USS Enterprise in 2009’s "Star Trek"

For more on the PADD in Star Trek, see the Memory Alpha article on the subject.

UPDATE: Spiner Tweets on Trek/iPad connection
Star Trek The Next Generation’s ultimate piece of technology, Brent Spiner, has also noticed the iPad/PADD Trek connection. He has made a couple of posts to his Twitter about it today:

@brentspiner: Hey, I just heard that Apple is coming out with some kind of tablet. Wanted you to be the first to know.

@brentspiner: Didn’t Captain Picard used to play with a pad like that in his ready room? STAR TREK STRIKES AGAIN!!!

@brentspiner: Just heard a rumor about itransporter. Wanted you to be the first to know.

Nice touch how they showed Star Trek on the new iPad. Of course, in Star Trek, the PADD replaced paper and pencils, which I doubt will happen in real life, but it’s a step in the right direction. Now, the only question that remains to be answered is whether or not it will be successful.

Major error there – they did NOT use PADDs in TOS. They didn’t have any computer access capabilities – they were just electronic clipboards, something to write on. They didn’t have any of the functions of TNG PADDs – I thought everyone knew that.

I’m bringing my iPADD to work, wearing my TOS Uhura uniform, hiking up my skirt, crossing my legs and taking notes at a meeting. Then I’m going on the PA system to call Scotty in engineering, call the captain to the bridge and Spock to the science labs. Then I’m gonna drink some coffee out of a gray-painted styrofoam cup. And I’m gonna have some peeled apples and marshmallows dyed with food coloring for lunch. Then after work, I’m gonna put on a red unitard and go do some tumbling in the gym.

So, unless you want the back of my hand, all of you haters just shut your pie holes and never talk again. Never!

I can see high schools, colleges/universities, businesses, everyday folks with this thing, as people tweet, check their facebook, watch porn/movies, listen to music and check their emails. Gone are the days of carrying around 100lbs of books and notes in students backpacks, we will have a less slouchy future generation. I wonder if you can use this thing in flight, bye bye laptops.

I’ll get one when it’s made by Windows (PC) and costs about half as much.

Still, looks pretty neat… but one bad thing! Touchscreens get scratched so easily, and MAC likes to charge gobs of money for their protective screens and such. Shame, too! If Macintosh lowered their prices (and made their computers more like PCs) I’d probably get some of their stuff.